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Swyftx Review

Our guide outlines Swyftx's features, fees, pros, cons, and comparisons with other crypto platform alternatives. We also look at the platform's safety and must-know features unique to Swyftx.
Updated 14 September 2023
Swyftx Summary:
  • Swyftx launched its dedicated New Zealand platform in August 2021 with a focus on low fees, minimal spreads and a wide choice of coins.
  • Swyftx is based in Australia and launched in 2018 to focus on the Australian market, much like Easy Crypto originally did in New Zealand. Swyftx registered as an NZ financial services provider (under SWYFTX PTY LTD - FSP1000861) in July 2021 allowing New Zealand-based customers to buy or sell various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin.
  • The steps from signup to trade are simple - first, users create an account (by entering their name and details). Then, Swyftx verifies your ID (via photo ID, phone number and email address) and, once done, asks for a deposit (made via debit card). Once the deposit has cleared, users can start trading.
  • The platform offers an app, demo accounts, charting, tax reports and the widest selection of coins (next to Binance).
  • Swyftx offers recurring orders to automate investing in crypto, allowing you to buy multiple cryptocurrencies at once. Recurring orders are instrumental in dollar-cost averaging which is popular in highly volatile crypto markets.
  • Our view: Swyftx is a trusted and low-fee crypto platform for both beginner and experienced New Zealand-based investors. We see the 0.60% trade fee and low spreads as standout features.

The important details
  • Payment methods: Debit card (in June 2022, bank deposits were suspended per this Swyftx Reddit support thread)
  • Coin prices: Quotes for buying and selling are live and are quoted in NZD
  • OTC: Swyftx offers a low-fee over-the-counter service, where it acts as a broker between buyer and seller. This service is aimed at high-net-worth clientele and institutions in New Zealand - the first step for potential clients is to book an appointment with Swyftx's specialist team.
  • Ongoing account Fees: None
  • Minimum order size: Around NZ$1.04
  • Settlement: On Swyftx's integrated wallets or using an external private wallet
  • Coins available: 280+ different coins, including Bitcoin. Almost all coins are able to be sourced through the Swyftx order page. You can use CryptoSpot for live rate comparison.
  • Learn more: Swyftx
 
To explain Swyftx in detail, our guide covers:
Warning:
  1. By publishing this guide, we are not recommending or suggesting in any way or form that Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency is a suitable investment.
  2. We published and update this guide to help people understand the Swyftx platform - MoneyHub is conservative, and our publisher, Christopher Walsh, has zero Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency investments.
  3. We present this information in good faith and remain objective at all times. ​By including this guide under our Investing and Saving section, we are not advocating that cryptocurrency is an investment. We may earn a referral bonus for anyone that clicks on some of the below links - see our Advertising Policy for more details.​​

Buying and Selling Crypto on Swyftx

Payment methods supported by Swyftx are as follows:
  • Debit card only

Fees: Swyftx's fees and minimum/maximum amounts are simple to understand. These are:

1. Fiat Deposit & Withdrawal Fees
  • $0/0% fees to deposit NZD into Swyftx account
  • Daily deposit limit up to NZ$50,000
  • Minimum withdrawal of NZ$30
  • NZ$10 withdrawal fee
  • Timing: Local Bank Deposits and Withdrawals take 1-3 business days to clear

2. Trading Fees
  • 0.6% platform fee on the value of the transaction. Swyftx states that it offers high volume discounts.
  • There are no trading limits.
  • Spreads start from 0.41%. As a background, a spread is the difference in the buy vs sell price. Swyftx claims that it has trading algorithms that are "optimised for increasing liquidity with trade volume and decreasing spreads which results in some of the lowest spreads on the market for New Zealand traders". It further claims its spreads for Bitcoin are as low as 0.41% whereas its average spread is around 1.70% (vs 4.0% charged by its competitors). We cannot verify these numbers but it's worth keeping in mind.

Safety of Your Funds and Crypto

​Many exchanges allow you to keep your purchased cryptocurrencies in an account on their platform. The idea is to make it convenient for active users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, and to avoid the network costs of withdrawing currencies into your wallet. This is the case with Swyftx - your NZD (fiat) and crypto are stored in a wallet on Swyftx's platform. However, you are able to store your crypto on external wallets.

Know this: Delivering your purchases into your wallet is arguably the most secure way of buying and selling crypto because it avoids having your money stored on an intermediary platform (such as an exchange), which has a risk of getting hacked. Hackings of platforms are not uncommon in the crypto world - Christchurch-based Cryptopia is one example of many. When exchanges are hacked, the investors can lose some or all of their crypto.

New Feature: Learn and Earn
In September 2023, Swyftx launched a new feature called "Learn and Earn." Customers can earn crypto rewards through this feature by completing courses and quizzes on the Swyftx Learn platform. We see this as a unique offering, and it has gained media attention from publications such as Cointelegraph and Beincrypto. We believe Swyftx is the only Australian and New Zealand exchange providing such an educational service. You can learn more about Learn and Earn here.

Swyftx - Pros and Cons

Pros:
  • Swyftx is transparent, easy to use and trusted by thousands of New Zealand-based cryptocurrency investors (and over 350,000 around the world).
  • Signing up as a customer, verifying and buying/selling/depositing/withdrawing is seamless, meaning most new users can get up and running within one day.
  • The fees are low, there are no recurring membership charges, and the spreads are also low meaning customers buy and sell crypto at market prices.
  • Cryptocurrencies are stored on Swyftx's integrated wallets, but customers can also send cryptocurrencies directly to hot or cold wallets. These two options mean you have options as to site security. However, if you choose to store your coins with Swyftx, there is a risk of theft if the platform is compromised (e.g. hacked or raided).
  • Swyftx has an unrivalled range of learner materials for the crypto beginner, covering every topic, feature and concept. You can check out the full range of topics covered here via their 'learn' section.
  • Swyftx offers a wide range of cryptocurrencies - currently 280+ in total, including Bitcoin. 
  • You can buy fractions of a cryptocurrency with a minimum purchase order of around $1, making it accessible for anyone to buy high dollar value cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. 
  • Tax reporting functionality makes it easy to declare taxable income to the IRD.
  • Swyftx offers 'Swyftx Bundles' to help customers diversify their cryptocurrency investment portfolios. Bundles are groups of different cryptos that are purchased in a single transaction. This gives exposure into a range of different assets as well as lower fees overall and can be purchased as part of a recurring order.
  • Customer support includes phone, live chat and email, as well as social media messaging.
  • Swyftx offers advanced features such as demo account trading, graphs and portfolio management tools and the option to place recurring trade orders.

Cons:
  • Customers can only use debit cards to fund their accounts.
  • There are very few other drawbacks. We have read user reports of some users having problems signing up and withdrawing money, but these are isolated cases. To avoid any issues, the best idea is to fund any account with a small amount, try out the platform (buy, sell and withdraw) and then see if it meets your needs.

Alternatives to Swyftx - Easy Crypto vs Binance vs LocalBitcoins

Swyftx, despite being Australian based and New Zealand focused, isn't the only option for New Zealanders. We compare four popular and trusted options below. It's worth noting that Swyftx offers the second largest number of coins of any platform (with Binance offering the widest choice).

Easy Crypto

  • Payment methods: POLI instant pay, debit or credit card, or local NZ bank transfer
  • Fees: All fees are included in the spread, which is why the bid and offer prices might look higher than other platforms. The fees are around 0.70% to 0.90%. 
  • Minimum order size: NZ$50
  • Settlement: Private wallet
  • Coins available: 109, including Bitcoin
  • Learn more: ​Easy Crypto

Binance

  • Payment methods: Debit/credit card via third-party payment provider Simplex
  • Fees: Card processing fees are 3.5% with a minimum fee of US$10. When withdrawing Bitcoin, for example to your private wallet, there is a withdrawal fee of 0.0005 BTC, approximately NZ$28
  • Minimum order size: The minimum order size is the equivalent of US$30, which is approximately NZ$46
  • Settlement: On an account
  • Coins available: With a bank card, you can buy 18 different cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. On the exchange, there is hundreds of coins are available to trade once you have an account funded with crypto
  • Learn more: ​Binance​ or read our Binance Review

LocalBitcoins

  • Payment methods: It depends on your agreement with the seller
  • Fees: A fee of 1% is charged to the party which listed the ad on the platform, other fees might be priced into the offer from the seller
  • Minimum order size: The seller sets the minimum order size
  • Settlement: Private wallet
  • Coins available: Bitcoin only
  • Learn More: LocalBitcoins

Swyftx - Frequently Asked Questions

Swyftx is user-friendly and transparent with a genuine New Zealand focus, but there are still some must-know facts to be aware of. We answer common questions below:

How safe is Swyftx?

Swyftx holds cryptocurrency on behalf of its customers, so the biggest risk is whether or not its customer's crypto assets can be hacked and stolen. To provide comfort to its customers, Swyftx makes it clear by confirming "our storage of your Assets is a mixture of cold hot and wallet storage means in order to protect your assets". Their security protocols also include the use of JWT tokens and session expiry, 2FA account protection and a range of other measures. You can read more about their approach to wallets and general security here.

Does Swyftx recommend any wallets?

No. This is most likely because Swyftx provides wallets for all of the crypto assets listed on their platform. Unlike Easy Crypto, Swyftx integrates wallets so that when a user buys, sells, deposits or withdraws, Swyftx uses various internal wallet systems to manage and maintain the Crypto and fiat currency securely and safely.

Swyftx also makes it clear that users are welcome to use their own wallets, and that "an offline wallet will always be more secure than any exchange's wallet". You can read more about crypto wallets in our guide here.

How long will it take for crypto to get sent into my wallet?

Trades that sit on Swyftx's wallets are instant. For trades that use external wallets, how long depends on the network speed of cryptocurrencies, which varies between one another. It also depends on how busy the network is at the time of purchase. Usually, the time estimate is less than one hour, and in most cases, it's a number of minutes.

Can I sell coins to Swyftx?

Yes - Swyftx's process is straightforward, but customers will need to be fully verified and have made a deposit into their account before selling any crypto holdings. There is also a NZ$30 minimum withdrawal and a NZ$10 withdrawal fee if you wish to cash out your holdings into a New Zealand bank account.

Do I need to pay taxes on my cryptocurrencies if I had made a profit?

Yes - and Swyftx makes this easy with an all-on-one solution that lets users access tax reports to be able to do this. To understand more about tax on cryptocurrencies, visit the IRD's website here.

What do I need to know about tax implications for crypto?
  • The Inland Revenue has clarified the position on tax obligations relating to cryptocurrencies in a guideline here and Cryptoassets (ird.govt.nz).
  • As crypto-assets continue to evolve, Inland Revenue will progressively update these guidelines to provide people greater certainty on their compliance obligations.
  • If you have specific questions or ideas for updates, you can e-mail cryptocurrency@ird.govt.nz to start a conversation with the Inland Revenue.

Does Swyftx charge any account fees?

No, signing up is completely free. Swyftx makes its money per transaction, charging a trading fee (0.60%) that covers all of their operating costs and third-party costs (i.e. bank charges, foreign exchange fees, and slippage). You'll also pay mining fees and spreads on top of Swyftx's trade fees. If you want to withdraw any NZD into your bank account there is a NZ$10 fee.

Is there a minimum buy order?

Yes, Swyftx has an AU$1 minimum (or 0.00001 BTC) for standard market, limit and stop orders. This means it’s now easier than ever to enter or exit smaller positions. When applied to NZD, the minimum is around NZ$1.05. Please note the minimum order applies to all standard orders and bundles but excludes recurring orders.
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